A woman who bit the top of another woman’s finger off at a New Year’s Eve party in Suffolk has been given a suspended prison sentence.

Sentencing 35-year-old Rebecca Everitt, Judge Rupert Overbury described the injury to Kelly Harris-Flatt's index finger as "significant".

"It will have an ongoing effect for the rest of her life," said the judge.

He said Everitt had reacted in a fast-moving incident after something was pushed into her mouth which she hadn't realised was a finger.

He said that at the time of the incident, Everitt had been in a particularly bad place and had sought solace in alcohol.

He said Everitt was now receiving help for her mental health issues and if they had been diagnosed at the time the assault on New Year's Eve may not have happened.

Everitt, of Paget Close, Needham Market, admitted wounding Kelly Harris-Flatt on December 31, 2017.

She was given a 12-month prison sentence suspended for two years and a 30-day rehabilitation activity order.

She was also banned from contacting Ms Harris-Flatt for two years.

Nicola May, prosecuting, said Everitt and Ms Harris-Flatt had known each other since their school days but their relationship hadn't been good for ten years.

During a New Year's Eve party at Great Blakenham village hall, Everitt had been upset following the loss of her sister and was upset at something that had been said about it.

During the evening there had been several incidents between Everitt and Ms Harris-Flatt including a confrontation on the dance floor, Ipswich Crown Court heard.

At around 10.30pm Ms Harris-Flatt and two of her friends had gone outside for a cigarette and, while she was out there, Everitt had pulled her hair.

During the incident Ms Harris-Flatt became aware of her finger in Everitt's mouth and feeling pain, said Miss May.

She said a witness who had intervened in the confrontation had pushed Everitt away and heard Ms Harris-Flatt say the top of her finger had been bitten off.

Miss May said the missing part of the finger was found too late for it to be reattached.

The court heard that Everitt had pleaded guilty on the basis that she had felt something in her mouth and had been reckless in terms of the force she had used.